


Aftermath

by rupeecoloredhair



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M, let them rest, some needed fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2019-05-13 14:18:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14750480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rupeecoloredhair/pseuds/rupeecoloredhair
Summary: The Calamity is gone. Hyrule is safe. So why does the princess run from the castle? And why has the hero yet to return?





	Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> A quickly written, unbeta'd fluffy one shot of Link and Zelda post-calamity.

One. Two. Three. Four stars fall to the earth. Shooting across the sky. Chased by bright streaks of light. A gorgeous view.

Knees to her chest, Zelda watches the stars fall again and again. This cliff is the perfect place to watch without climbing one of those massive towers. Quiet, secluded, with a lovely view of the night sky. Link’s home in Hateno is one of her favorite secret spaces to get away.  After hearing of the shower happening tonight, she knew that  _ here _ was where she needed to be.

Her head turns at the sound of footsteps walking towards her. No one should be coming out here except for...

“Good evening, Link.” Link waves at her, looking tired. His clothes are a mess and his feet are dragging as if he’s come back from an adventure. She pats the grass next to her, inviting him to sit. “I came to watch the stars.” Link collapses next to her, leaning back with a heavy sigh before he signs,  _ castle? _

“They’ll survive without me for a day or two,” the question brings a pang of guilt. They’ll be fine without her for a day. She was stuck there for goddess knows how long, is she not allowed a chance to breathe? Collect herself? Her silence worries Link who leans forward to look at her face.

“Getting used to everything again, getting used to everyone is….hard,” words come easy around him. They always have. She takes a shaky breath, “I...need a break. From all the questions and commands and attention. ‘Zelda how should we do this? Zelda, how do you want to fix this? Zelda, don’t do that it’s dangerous. Zelda, we can’t do that you’re still resting.’ It’s so  _ much _ .” She quickly rubs at her eyes before Link sees her crying. She’s sure he does anyway, he always does.

She lays back in the cool grass, turning her attention back to the sky. Link does the same. Laying back without a word, leaving her in comfortable silence as they watch the stars fall. Nearly twenty stars fly by before Link grabs her hand and writes into her palm. “ _ Stay. here. _ ”

“I can’t, I have to head back--”

“ _ No. Stay. _ ”

“Link, I can’t. You know this.” He jumps to his feet as if he’s no longer exhausted. He points to her, the ground, himself and then signs,  _ tea _ .

_ Stay here while I make some tea. _

“I have to  _ go _ \--” Link waves her off, walking into the house. Zelda laughs, debating heading out before Link prevents he from doing so. But a few days in Hateno….away from the castle...with Link...it might not be so bad.

She nearly falls asleep in the grass before clouds begin to roll in. The sudden lack of moonlight compels her to head inside. The house is warm, cozy, and Link invites her in with a smile.

“The castle will worry if I’m not there tomorrow..”

_ I’ll talk to them _ .

“They’ll want me back, I can’t just leave for days. It’s unthoughtful.”

_ I’ll take care of it _ .

“How?” Placing the cup of tea in her hands, Link holds a finger to his lips. His secret. She pouts but he doesn’t budge, pushing her up the stairs with a grin.

There’s nothing wrong with a break.

* * *

 

Link’s pen scratches at the paper as he writes. A quick note that Zelda is with him to be sent to the castle lest someone worries she was kidnapped or worse. He knows that if he says he’s with her, no one will worry. Especially since, if worse comes to worse, he can take her back to the castle in an instant. It won’t come to that though. He’s certain of it.

He looks over to Zelda, fast asleep in bed. It’s late, very late, Link is barely awake himself. He’d come home after a long few days out in the wilderness. Again. He had nothing to do, and so much more to explore, now that Hyrule was safe he spent his days doing as he wished. 

“Slow down, your writing suffers because you write so quickly,” Zelda’s past teachings come to mind as he writes. He smiles, remembering how  _ horrid _ his writing used to be. Zelda had had enough, sat him down, and forced him to practice until it was legible. He’ll have to thank her for that when she’s awake considering how well written this letter looked. Almost official.

He’s careful to not let his chair scrape the floor when he finishes. Careful to not trip down the stairs, and close the door quietly behind him. Careful to make sure Zelda can keep sleeping.

The clouds that interrupted the falling stars have moved on, letting the moon shine bright as he walks into Hateno. The night is still, not even a breeze. Quiet.

He remembers when he used to run everywhere. No matter what he did, the sight of the castle on the horizon with the Calamity always writhing around it made him feel like he couldn’t be slow. Save Hyrule, save Zelda, and quickly. Before it’s too late.

Now, he could walk to the mailbox without the feeling of impending doom. It’s a nice feeling.

Hyrule saved. Peaceful. Life is normal again. Like what it used to be. Not that Link remembered much of what his life used to be, only getting snippets of memories here and there. Now, he always feels restless. Zelda had offered for him to be a knight again, to help her in Hyrule, but the thought of staying in one spot made him anxious. He could do more out here in Hateno. No responsibilities, just running from place to place to help with whatever he can. Whenever.

He’s getting restless again.

Link stands on the bridge for a moment, taking a breath and looking out to the quiet. He needs a break, Zelda does too. Staying here for a few days, maybe showing Zelda the other towns, he needs that. And so does she.

The door clicks shut behind him and exhaustion finally catches up. Link slumps against the door, falling down to the floor to pull off his boots. For a moment, the idea of sleeping right here sounds like a fantastic idea but he pulls himself off the floor all the same and nearly crawls up the stairs.

Zelda stirs when he moves the covers aside but doesn’t wake, turning over to cuddle up to him once he’s lying down. In seconds, the two of them are fast asleep again. Together.

Safe.

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize for the unbeta'd mess but I wanted to get this idea written and posted before moving on to larger things. Also, I desperately wanted some ZeLink fluff where they both take a rest because THEY NEED A BREAK THE BOTH OF THEM GODDESSES _PLEASE_
> 
> If you like what I do, please consider [buying me a ko-fi](http://ko-fi.com/rupeehair) or even [commissioning me](http://rupeecoloredhair.tumblr.com/post/173782190932/writing-commissions)! Every little bit helps a lot. <3 Ty for reading!


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